Another Fairy Tail Adventure
by Heterie
Summary: One hot, deserted island. Three Fairy Tail mages. The story is over, but another adventure has just begun.
1. The Decision

**CHAPTER 1: THE DECISION**

* * *

Lucy watches as Natsu's tensed hands reach out towards the fire pit. With a small jerk, the fire grows wilder, and Lucy pulls in her foot to avoid the heat. The magic emitting from him was slow and oozing; it thickened the air enough to cause Lucy to take deep breaths. Mixed with the smoke billowing from the flames, Natsu's magic made the fire take different shapes and sizes – moving with the curves of a woman or the wings of a bird.

She wondered what he was thinking about.

"Where did you learn to do that, Natsu?" she asked softly.

He twitched his hands again to make it take form of another pointless shape. "Um, I dunno. I've always liked playing with it so I guess it just sorta happened. Though I can make more, um, defined shapes if I'm really focused and relaxed."

She watched again as he took in a breath and leaned with his hands extended. Blue and orange flame started to grow taller as they whipped and twisted into what looked like an old tree. The roots overlapped the wood that was placed underneath as growing leaves licked up the imaginary bark. It pulsed like a gentle beacon and swayed with the breeze that was sucked out towards the sea.

"Reminds me of the Rainbow Sakura tree I saw all those years ago. You remember that, Natsu? It was tied to a row boat while it floated down the main river," she looked towards the dark ocean they were camped near, "It caused quite the spectacle."

Natsu hummed in response as he let his tree die down into the kindling. "You think we need more firewood or are we good for tonight?"

Neither of them wanted to get more. Both of their legs were sore from the hiking and the insects that buzzed about chewed on any piece of flesh shown. Even Natsu's cat, Happy, was frustrated with the conditions and he was built for this type of humidity. It was the first day of their four-day mission and things were already going south. Lucy caught a thin bug on her thigh with a slap and examined her hand with disgust. This island was rumored to be ruthless but all she witnessed were the annoying insects. How could she let Natsu talk her into this type of job? He was so lively when he explained it to her.

"It's like something straight out of an action movie!" He gushed. Natsu leaned on her desk with the paper crinkled in his hands.

"The woman who runs the hotel is called Woodrig. She's older than dirt but the locals say she used be a part of some gang back in the day. Real spunky type of gal. Anyway, her son likes to mess with obscure magic and try it out on the costumers that stay at her hotel. It seems he hurt a kid, and Woodrig kicked him out for a bit to learn a lesson. Since he hasn't come back, she thinks he got captured by some mage group that calls themselves The Butterflies."

Lucy was trying to keep up with him; he was talking and gesticulating so fast that it was hard to process. She put her hand up to stop him.

"Natsu, this hardly sounds real –"

"But it is!"

"It just doesn't seem practical. The Butterflies? That doesn't sound threatening."

Happy jumped up onto her desk chair and chimed in. "Neither does Fairy Tail but we are."

Natsu patted him on the head. "'Atta boy, Happy!"

Lucy turned to walk to her kitchen for something to drink. She stuck her head in the fridge and fiddled with the choices available. She needed to go shopping.

"Okay but listen," she shut the fridge empty handed and turned to their figures past the doorway, "We don't know anything about this group or the land it's from. And we don't even know if he was captured or not. You really believe this?" Lucy pointed towards Natsu.

He frowned and let his shoulders droop. "I know what you're thinking, but I have a feeling about this woman. The way she sounded over the lacrima... she was in hysterics, Lucy. She's really worried about her nephew."

Lucy tried to look past him at this point. She knew if she looked at him any longer, the option of turning down the job would dissipate. How could she logically explain to him that this didn't seem like a good idea? The report was too vague; that means that the mission was immensely unpredictable.

"Natsu, I know how you're feeling—"

"No, you don't."

"—And what I'm trying to tell you—"

"Is that you don't trust my plan."

"—Is that anything could happen on this job, which means it is incredibly unsafe and—"

"Haha, okay?"

"—And that you're being an asshole right now." She was getting annoyed. He can be pointlessly stubborn sometimes.

Natsu let a long sigh out and looked at the paper clenched in his hand. All Lucy could do was watch him slowly unfold this report, stressfully skim it again, and look back at her. He seemed apologetic.

"I know it's stupid, okay? I'm honestly not too sure about it either but I know what I felt. This woman needs help; she sounds like she lost her kid or something. I can't sleep knowing that she doesn't know where he is." Natsu balled up the report and dropped it on her desk. Happy awkwardly leaned in and told him, "You could have just folded it."

Natsu looked down at Happy and dejectedly shrugged. "But folding is stupid."

"Balling paper up in your sweaty hands is stupid." Happy told him.

"You're being kinda mean today, you good?" Natsu patted him on the head and looked back at Lucy, who was thinking this whole discussion through.

Natsu lazily waved his hand at her. "You think my hands are sweaty, Luce?"

She walked over to the desk and picked the report up to read it again. "They usually are so I'm going to say yes."

"Oh come on, they aren't usually sweaty." He ran his own fingers over his palm and smiled as he tried to hold a laugh in.

"They're more moister than raw chicken, Natsu." Happy giggled.

Lucy held a finger up. "First of all, ew. Second of all, it's just moister."

"Stop saying my hands are moist, it makes me uncomfortable."

"Then why are you touching them like that?" Happy criticized.

Natsu looked up. "Like what?"

Lucy suddenly gasped and stepped close to Natsu. "Look at this! Did you see this? In the mission's Item Descriptions, it lists a scroll documenting the Dragon King Festival dating back to 400 years ago – X300. You were born around that time, weren't you, Natsu?"

She saw Natsu's face suddenly wince at the reminder. He tried to hide his discomfort and parted his mouth to get out a response. He stuttered out an answer. "Uh, yeah. I guess. Why?"

Lucy felt bad about bringing it up; she knew that he hated talking about the life he couldn't remember before Igneel. It was a life that she and everyone else would never understand. A life before electricity and transport. A life where a petty crime like theft meant death, and death was an abundance in the filthy streets. Dragons governed magic, people, and law, as the mages in that time were new. Their frail, human bodies were adjusting to the new blood. This blood could contort and glow; it could grow outside their bodies and take the form of beasts. A beast that would devour ones' soul or make love. In this old life, people wandered the streets through their own sewage and fought for bread. Girls could be sold as _yuujo_ or _oiran _for common men; becoming moving works of art and commodities for sex. Boys would be ripped from their houses to work or to sell; having no laws to protect them. In this old, lawless life, Natsu chose not to remember. He was fearful and betrayed, and it was because of this reason that Lucy immediately regretted her question.

"Well, sorry, I was just really interested in the fact that a historical document like that wouldn't be in a museum. It says that it's available to search for during the mission, and if we bring it to the authorities, there's a bonus." She tried lightening her tone as she hinted the extra Jewel.

Natsu looked calm in the face and she knew he was hiding his discomfort. He swallowed hard and shrugged to say he didn't care too much, but was open to the opportunity.

"What's the Dragon King Festival?" Happy asked.

Natsu answered first. "It was the big war between the dragons and humans all those years ago. Basically the creation of Dragon Slayers."

Happy's ears instantly perked. "We have to find it then! You would want to see that, right, Natsu? And you too, Lucy? I know I do."

Natsu was already nodding his head and distancing himself from the conversation. "It's cool an' all, but the main focus is Woodrig's nephew. We gotta make sure he's okay and back with his aunt before we do anything else."

Lucy agreed. "You're right. But I'm still saying, this mission is dodgy. There's not a lot of description about the location or the people involved. There are no references, no destination, or key info."

Natsu stepped nearer and peered onto the paper. "Yeah, there is. Location is Uragirimono Island and the key info is that asshole-nephew-boy was probably taken by The Butterfly gang."

She looked up to meet his eyes. He had that cheeky ghost of a smile that prompted a challenge. Her lips tightened to keep from smiling back.

"Do you even know his name?"

His brown eyes flickered down to her mouth and back up to meet her gaze. He innocently grinned.

"Duh," Natsu drew out quietly, "Fuckin', uh, asshole-nephew-kid."

She really couldn't hold back a small laugh at that. "Really?"

He giggled. "I mean, yeah. Sounds accurate, right?"

"You're dumb."

"No, you." He teased.

"You guys are both dumb for not telling me the reward for this mission," Happy cut in. "What's my cut?"

Natsu lightly grabbed the paper from Lucy's hand and unintentionally let his fingers linger there. "You're a cat. You'll just buy fish right?"

Happy tried to claw his way up to get a look. "Is that a problem?"

Natsu, still smiling, turned the paper up so that the bottom was more visible. He felt Lucy tense next to him.

She breathed out. "2,000,000 million Jewel."

That statement left a cadence in the air. Natsu stared at the numbers, desperately trying to count the zeros again. Unbelievable. He finally lifted his hand and curled his fingers into his now sweaty palm. Slowly looking down at Lucy, he could see that a piece of her golden hair was stuck to the corner of her mouth as she read the total in her head.

Happy leaned onto Natsu and whispered, "If she's this quiet while reading it, that means she'll say yes."


	2. Big Rats

**CHAPTER 2: BIG RATS**

* * *

They weren't raccoons; they couldn't be. Their ears were too long and tails too short. Happy had been trying to figure out what these furry, spiked animals by their camp were for the past few hours. They had been eating the fruit out of their camping bag. Happy sat on his butt tensely as he stared through the brown bush to catch a long glimpse at these annoying raccoons. But they weren't raccoons. They were – big rats? With stripes. Yes, that was it. Big black and white rats with stripes.

He turned his head to look over at Natsu batting the bugs chewing on his ears. Natsu had his long legs stretched out before the campfire trying to lead the pests somewhere else. His tan knees were covered in bumps that burned with a small infection and Happy tried to count his own bumps on the tips of his paws. One, two, three, four, another raccoon is dressed in nior. Five, six, seven, eight, all I want is a piece of fish cake. He tried asking Natsu an hour ago if they could go fishing, but Lucy said they didn't have time, and Natsu agreed. Lucy had left Natsu to start checking more of the island out to see if there were any beaten game trails or roads while she tried to bathe. A hot saltwater bath, Happy thought. He shivered.

"Natsu," Happy whined. "It's hot."

He didn't look up. "Oh, it's not too bad."

"Yes it is; you're just walking fire so you're used to it." The cat complained.

"Well go swimming. Or grab some paper and fan yourself off. I think Lucy brought a fan."

"Why did you light a fire if it's so hot out?"

"I thought it would get rid of some of the bugs." Natsu swatted again. "Bugs usually don't bother me but this is getting stupid. I'm a little mad about it. Gods, it itches."

Happy slowly rose out of the dirt and looked past the bush again. There weren't as many fuzzy imposter raccoons as earlier, but some were still sniffing around.

"Have you seen the striped rats? They keep taking our fruit."

Natsu still didn't look up. "Let 'em have it. As long as they don't take the jerky, I'm fine."

A snap of a few twigs made both of their heads jerk up to see Lucy's red face. Her hair looked darker due to the saltwater and more small bumps speckled her collarbone. She huffed and shook her foot to throw the wet sand off.

"Did you find anything or no?"

Natsu dejectedly looked at the fire. "I'm gonna be honest, I didn't look around too much. There's just nothing in site and the map they gave us is wack. I think if I left the camp, I'd get lost."

She licked her chapped lips and stepped to sit on one of blankets away from the fire. "Yeah, I understand. Maybe we should call Woodrig again? It's almost completely dead here."

Happy's ears folded back excitedly. "Lucy, did you see the raccoons?"

She tilted her head towards him in alarm. "Oh god, don't tell me there's actually raccoons here."

"Wait, do raccoons even live on beaches?" Natsu spoke to himself.

"No, no, they're not raccoons. They're big rats." Happy animated.

Lucy yelped and swerved her head towards Natsu like it was his fault. He just stared back at her with a grin on his face. "Yeah Luce, they're enormous. They have these yellow teeth that look like glass spikes and _huge _feet. Like, I'm talkin' about some real clown shoes."

"Oh my gods, Natsu, stop it. I know you're joking with me."

"Nah-uh. Happy saw them, too. Just before you got here. Didn't you see them over by the shore, Happy?"

Happy knew Natsu was obviously exaggerating, but pranking Lucy about the small raccoon-rats put a smile on his face.

"_Oooh _yeah! They're huge, Lucy. I saw one start to eat a snake right out of the ground. He shook it like a dog and then swallowed it in one bite!"

Her panicked face died down. "Okay, now I know you guys are joking."

Natsu laughed. "And how would you know that? You were swimming this whole time weren't you? Maybe they can swim, too. What if one brushed up against your foot?"

She physically cringed and curled her toes at the thought. "Dude, you have to stop."

"That's what I told the biggest one when it started chewing my face off."

She threw her head back and laughed. "Please, shut up."

"You wanna see the scar?" Natsu got up to show her.

"No!" She yelled in between laughs, "Don't come near me!"

"No wait, I swear, it's metal. Take a look." He closed the distance and lightly grabbed her arms to pull her up. She was laughing so hard that she couldn't stand.

"Don't touch me, Nastu!"

"No, I'm serious; its gnarly. Like it's the size of Gajeel's forehead."

"I'm gonna kill you," she breathed.

"Lucy, please. End my misery. The injury is unbearable." He was giggling now too.

She pushed at his chest. "You're too much; I don't want to see."

"Can I see?" Happy asked.

Natsu turned to him smiling while holding Lucy's arms up. "I don't actually have a scar."

"_Liar!" _She squealed and tackled his knees.

He startled as his legs buckled and he fell off the blanket onto his elbows.

"I win!" She screamed and turned to Natsu who was now playing dead in the sand.

Happy looked at his friends and back to the rat-raccoons to think: they really are too much.

* * *

The bug bites were getting worse. Lucy winced as she pulled tight skin to see the tip of the bite turn white. It was speckled with sharp red goosebumps that wouldn't dissipate, and they burned with swelling. Sickness was arising. She could feel it. Her brown eyes were getting a little dryer. The sound inside her ears felt a little hotter. Her hands were left behind when she moved them too fast. This was an infection; the cause of too many little buzzing creatures puncturing her skin to bleed the oil there. She turned her head towards Natsu instinctively to see if she could sense his new sickness.

He paced in front of her; mind obviously wandering. Worrying, most likely. The boy taken by the supposed mages had not left his mind since the day he read the posting. She scrutinized his steps. He walked fine. His arms swung limply with each step as he studied the ground – like he was waiting for the appearance of the boy's footprints. Natsu showed no sign of physical weakness. He seemed restless. Lucy doubted her own sickness then, chalking it up to be melodrama. But then she remembered that Natsu could lie. If he has his mind focused on one goal, everything else will be pushed aside until he reaches it. Including his own health.

Lucy stands up with effort. "You didn't sleep well last night. There's circles under your eyes. The bugs are bothering me at night, too." She walks over to their backpack without looking at him to rummage through.

"I'm fine," is all he says.

She pulls out the lacrima to place a call. Lucy hasn't looked at him yet. "We've been hiking for almost two days in severe heat with no trail to follow. How are your ankles?" Gesturing with the lacrima, she points out Natsu's swollen feet. He's unbuckled the sandals to lessen the pain.

He didn't answer. Standing still, he gazed unblinkingly at the ground. "The bugs haven't been too mean anywhere else. That's why they're swollen."

She hums. Then starts to dial the number they have been avoiding.

"Wait." He grabs the lacrima, but doesn't take it from her.

Lucy can feel the familiar heat rising off him. Again, she searches his face for sickness. Dark half-moons hang under his brown eyes making him look enervated. Speckles of new bites around his nose and drops of sweat on his upper lip stick out at her. He's so tired. He has the sickness, too. If he didn't look so serious, she might've grazed his brow to remove it.

Now he lazily smiles. "No need to look so dramatic."

She keeps her stare. "No need to act so dramatic."

He snatches the lacrima from her. Lucy doesn't have the energy to take it back.

Natsu fiddles with the malleable buttons. Erza had this made. It was much easier to call from lacrima then it was to send a letter. What a gift, magic is.

As Natsu turns away, he forcefully puts a skip in his step. "We are not, I repeat _not, _going to call Woodrig. If we call her again, she'll think we're not cut out for the job."

"Do not be afraid to ask for help, Natsu. We don't know this island; it isn't our fault that we can't understand a pencil-drawn map."

"Doesn't matter. Clients don't see it that way. It's never 'their' fault. Gods, I hate people like that."

"Woodrig doesn't seem like the type."

"We can't call her. Let's hike these trails for a couple more hours, and if that doesn't work, we can figure out something else, kay?"

Stubborn. It made Lucy frustrated, but she could see his reasoning. If they happened to show up at the hotel empty handed - no clues, footprints, samples, or leads, then it could cost them this job. The money was too valuable. For Lucy, at least.

She yawned, exhausted and lethargic, and grabbed her too heavy pack. Natsu was already on the move – stepping between the tropical weeds with the lacrima in hand. They heard skittering nearby. Must be Happy. He likes to eavesdrop.

More gathering, more movement, more work with her hands. Lucy's eyes stayed planted to the ground as she routinely organized her things. The graveled sand beneath her bag bunched and took the form of small dunes. Dry mineral upon mineral. In her head, she could imagine the ants maneuvering between the boulders of dirt, carrying food for another. Their antennas would twitch with conversation while creeping through the dry wasteland. If she blurred her vision, it would now look as if she was a hundred feet above the ground. She was an ant; gazing at a desert too big for her. A backpack was a planet hovering over a world of dirt ready to destroy the dunes below. And that's exactly what she did. Lucy forcefully planted her pack on those imaginary dunes and broke her gaze. It was done. Another home was gone. Maybe she'll write about it when she gets home.

"Where's Happy?"

Natsu said something but she didn't hear him. "What?"

"I said where is Happy?"

She looked toward the bushes to see a blue tail but saw nothing. "Uh, I'm not sure. He's back by the fire, right?"

Natsu walked quickly behind her to check the trees. "I think. He was looking at the rats."

She stood up, alarmed. "You guys weren't joking?"

"Kinda. Half-joking. They're like small racoons. Not dangerous or anything, but I told him not to play with them. They were eating our food."

"And you let them?" Lucy spoke up. "That is our only food, Natsu. You should have stopped them."

He sounded defensive. "They barley ate anything; it's cool. I kept an eye on them." Natsu was now frantically stepping over brush looking for Happy.

"It doesn't matter, Natsu. We need every bit of it. We don't know how long this mission is going to take and there aren't any grocery stores by those hills."

He wasn't listening. "Happy!" He called. "Happy!"

Lucy was now turning in circles looking for a break in the trees. Natsu jumped over a large branch and skipped down the sand. "_Happy!_"

"Do you think he's by the shore?" She yelled. Natsu didn't answer.

Lucy called to him in the opposite direction. "Happy! Hey!"

Natsu's ankles were throbbing as he paced towards the fire. It had died out, but their belongings looked almost untouched. "_Happy!_"

"He's not just gone. He might be hiding!"

He searched the waves in the distance. "Then it's not fucking funny. He's not a good swimmer." Natsu felt out of breath. "Did you look by that yellow tree down there? He's been hanging out down there today."

She nodded no. "I'll go check!"

"I swear if he's just playing some game—"

A sudden yell. The pair stopped and looked at each other with wide eyes. Another yell. Quieter this time. High pitched echo's vibrating in the stale air, and then Natsu was sprinting into the trees.

Lucy's stomach dropped, and after a paralyzing moment, she stumbled after him. She grabbed her hip to check her keys and instinctively groped Virgo. The energy pulsed around her as she prepared to open the Maiden's celestial gate.

"_Happy!_" He screamed. Natsu felt no pain in his ankles or slashes from branches as he lunged over dead logs. "_Happy!_"

With his throat already raw, Natsu tried listening to every movement, rustle, heartbeat, and breath that wasn't his. Happy's peppery smell was the only thing he was focused on trailing and it was fading by the second. He could smell Lucy's sweet scent fifty feet behind him; she was moving in a different direction since her senses weren't as accurate as his. Natsu slowed his pace considerably to think about his direction of sound. Past the yellow tree. Up towards the weary game trail by the tiger lilies.

The breeze suddenly wreaked of pepper.

_Run. _

And he ran.


End file.
